With her home destroyed, Latias sets out on a journey to protect herself from the mysterious Ghost King. On the way, she encounters new friends and adventures, and wonders if perhaps the one who destroyed her city is really all that he seems.

I'm glad so many people liked the last chapter. This is going to be one of the darkest yet, I'm afraid. Those who hate graphic violence, stay away!

Thank you Geniusboy, I wasn't aware you were British or wealthy enough to walk around with a monocle. Not many people can get away with that without looking stupid, but you managed it!

Thank you for your sympathies, Story Weaver1. As I said before, what happens in this chapter will be worse than the near-rape.

Nukerjsr, which scene in Wrath of the Damned are you referring to? There are so many!

Serpent's Tail, thank you for your interest. However, I'm afraid I must correct you on a few details. First, Delia wasn't wearing a disguise; she just made up a nickname so the Rockets couldn't target her later. And I don't think Giovanni and Ash are related. (In this story anyway, though I doubt it's that way in the show either.) "Sea of depression" is a little overdoing it, they all miss him but Bayleef and Phanphy are the only ones who still really mope about it, and that's only on certain occasions. They're all sure he'll come back to them, though. And the only Pokemon 'killing' will be in the wild, normal trainer battles will still be the good old beat-em-up-till-they-faint routine. And you forgot to add Ho-oh to your list of legendaries, I never said she was missing. And what about the three silicate Pokemon? (Not that they're important, just thought I'd mention them.) Pidgeot knew all those events because Pikachu told her one day when they weren't fighting anyone in particular and were just taking a break from their journey. Also, Fearow's buddies are NOT Gary Stu Pokemon, as you will soon see. And I'm curious about your website, but the address didn't show up in your review. Can you E-mail it to me? Oh, and I don't suppose you can predict where this pattern of events will end up?

Persian Mistress, I suppose Gary would be that angry. Good thing he's a fictional character and can't do anything about it, right? And Latias did try to fight back against the Fearow, but his buddies kept pushing her back down. I get tired of Team Rocket's motto too, so I may make fun of it a bit when they eventually show up. And I'm glad you liked the fortress idea so much!

…

Bird Pokemon.

There had to be hundreds of them. So many that they blotted out the night sky, which had cleared up hours ago from the earlier storm. There were Skarmory, Murkrow, a few Wingull, even a few Pidgeys, Hoothoots, and Noctowls from outside the forest. And Spearows. Lots and lots of Spearows. And one Fearow at their head.

"There's so many of them…" whispered Latias. She and Xatu had followed Pidgeot to a clear spot in the canopy through which they could see the great many wings flying towards them.

"That idiot…what's he done now?" growled Pidgeot.

"HAHAHA!" Fearow cried from the front of his army. "You see this, Pidgeot? This is for you! I've called in members of other bird gangs from all over Kanto and Johto so they would come here just for you, bitch! Hahahahaha! This is it! Your little fortress and everyone in it will be destroyed!" He craned his head back over his shoulder to the birds behind him. "ATTACK! DESTROY EVERYTHING!" The crooked avians screeched and flew forward, eager to rid the world of another group of innocent Pokemon.

Pidgeot turned to Hoothoot. "Rally the corps! Get every bird and bug who can fight up here, we'll need everything we've got to fight these creeps!"

The owl saluted. "Yes ma'am!" He flew back into the tree.

Latias saw Pidgeot was about to fight and flew up to her. "I'm coming with you!"

Pidgeot looked skeptical. "Can you fight?"

"I can turn invisible and tackle people!" she said proudly.

"Not good enough."

Latias blinked. "But-"

"No buts. Invisibility won't do you any good; there are owls out there that will spot you in an instant. And do you really think you can just tackle everyone without them noticing and launching attacks in every direction? Sooner or later, one's gotta connect, invisible or not, and then you're through." Pidgeot nodded at Xatu. "Take her and the children down to the egg shelter. They are our future. Don't let anything happen to them."

The psychic bowed. "You have nothing to fear, my lady."

Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Noctowls, Hoothoots, Natu, Yanma, Beedrill, Butterfree, Ledyba, Ledian and other winged Pokemon started flying out of the canopy around them and headed for the wicked birds in large numbers. "That's my cue. To battle!" With a flap of her great wings, she burst through the leaves and into the air, passing her cohorts as she led them straight for the enemy. More birds and bugs flew out of the canopy by the second, joining her flight as they prepared to defend their home.

Xatu turned away and started to fly back down the trunk. "Come little one. We must join the others in the egg shelter. It is the most secure room in the fortress, for it holds both our future children and an alternative food source in case of supply shortages." Latias looked at him in disgust, and he shrugged. "We are not trained Pokemon with regular meals, Latias. We are wild. We must take whatever food we can if we are to survive, even if it means eating our unborn children. Come." Latias took one last look out into the sky, at the proud, beautiful figure of Pidgeot, and reluctantly turned away, following the psychic back beneath the canopy.

…

Fearow cackled when he saw Pidgeot and her corps flying towards them, ready to battle. "Pidgeot, you old bitch, we meet again for the last time!"

Pidgeot folded her wings to her sides and shot at Fearow like a feathered missile. The evil bird dodged her and swiped at her with his claws as she shot past him. She unfolded her wings and spun like a corkscrew, deflecting the talons as she came out of her missile drive and hovered in place, preparing for the next attack. The other birds of both armies gave the two combatants a wide berth, knowing this fight was between their commanders alone. "What have you done, Fearow?! What did you have to promise your friends so that they'd come all the way here just to wipe out a little colony of forest Pokemon?"

The bird sneered. "I promised them an entire city and more. Once we've destroyed your fortress, we'll assault that little town of Pallet and turn it into a breeding ground. With all the birds at my command, it will be no problem. Once we've hatched enough new soldiers, we'll attack Viridian City with enough force to bring it to its knees. And from Viridian, it's only a short flight to the Indigo Plateau. Just imagine what we could do if we had control of that!"

"You're insane!" cried Pidgeot. "The security in Pallet Town is too strong, and if you take Viridian City the Pokemon League will retaliate with its strongest trainers! There's no way you can beat the Elite Four!"

Fearow shook his head. "Silly birdy. Any foe can be conquered if you throw enough soldiers at it. And with the soldiers we'll hatch by conquering Pallet and Viridian, not even the legendary Dragon Master Lance can defeat us!"

Pidgeot stared at the villain in disbelief. He had truly lost his mind if he thought this plan would work, but that didn't surprise her, she knew he had lost his sanity a long time ago when he had decided to become a cannibal. Even though she was sure he couldn't succeed, a shadow of doubt ate at her. There were an awful lot of Murkrow here, wasn't it possible that they could overload the psychic defenses she had heard were set up in Pallet Town with their innate darkness? If they actually could somehow defeat the guardian of Pallet, they might be able to take Viridian as well, since the Gym Leader there preferred Ground-Types, which were naturally weak against most bird Pokemon. And if they could take Viridian…would even the Elite Four be able to stop them?

She shook off her doubts. She had to believe she could stop these fiends, even if they did have overwhelming numbers. And she had to believe that the forces in Pallet Town could defeat the birds if she didn't. The alternative was unthinkable. She glared at her rival with a level of piercing hatred that can only be expressed through the great eyes of an eagle. "Fearow, this time you've gone too far! Our rivalry ends this night, once and for all!"

Fearow nodded. "I agree. One of us will not live to see the light of day!" They charged each other, as their troops fought and died around them.

…

The egg shelter was a huge room hollowed out inside the trunk of the tree filled with hundreds of Pokemon eggs of all shapes and sizes on racks, each a bug or bird waiting to hatch (or be eaten, depending on the circumstances.). All the other Pokemon living in the fortress had left to fight the invading army, leaving only Latias, Xatu, and a whole lot of irritating baby Pokemon with way too much energy behind. Latias watched in disbelief as the babies, who seemed impossibly hyper, were rolling around on the floor play fighting and flying around the room screaming nonsense. She held the suitcase full of Prison Balls tightly to her chest, not wanting the children to get their hands on it. She turned to Xatu, who looked oddly calm and serene in comparison to the rowdy chicks and larvae. "Are they always like this?" she asked.

"No, they're worse when they've had sugar," said Xatu. Latias stared at him, hoping he was joking. He wasn't. She idly wondered if she had been this much of a bother when she was younger and felt a twinge of sympathy for poor old Vincentio, having to deal with her every time she stole his underwear or drew pictures all over the walls of the house.

A young Delibird ran up to her, pulled out a wrapped present from his bag, and tossed it to her. "Here!" He ran off.

"I wouldn't open that if I were you," Xatu cautioned. Latias didn't hear him over all the shrieks and squealing coming from the young Pokemon running around.

The dragon's uncomfortable feelings about the children vanished as she stared at the present. Maybe they weren't so bad after all. She started unwrapping the gift, not hearing Xatu's cries of alarm, and the box exploded in her face, covering her red and milky white body in soot. She blinked. "I tried to warn you," Xatu said sadly. Latias scowled and wiped the grime off of her face, vowing never to have children.

It was at that moment there was an explosion of a different sort, much bigger and more deadly than the one caused by Delibird's Present, which caved in the far wall and caused dirt to fall from the ceiling. Eggs fell from their racks, smashing on the floor. The children screamed and ran away from the smoke coming off of the blast area. Shocked, Latias and Xatu stood up. "What's going on?!" she asked.

A Gust attack blew away the smog, revealing a few dozen birds, mostly Spearow and Murkrow but there were a couple of Pidgeotto as well and one Skarmory. From the hostile expressions on their faces, it was clear that none of them were here to play with the children. "How did you get in here?!" asked the horrified Xatu.

The metallic Skarmory sneered. "All of your fighting Pokemon went out to meet the rest of our flock, so no one was left to guard this place but you. We had no trouble sneaking in here and blasting our way through the tree trunk."

Skarmory cocked his head. "You know, I really don't think that's going to happen. Kill 'em!" The birds at his sides leaped forward, towards the elderly Psychic. Xatu immediately retaliated with a Confusion attack, hurling the invaders into the walls. Unfortunately, the attack had no effect on the Dark-type Murkrow. They opened their mouths, forming spheres of darkness, and spat a dozen Shadow Balls at Xatu. The Ghost-type attacks exploded on contact with Xatu's body, flinging him back into the mass of children, who screamed and backed away from his smoking form. He was clearly dead.

Latias gaped at the corpse, suddenly perceiving the difference between fights between trained Pokemon and fights in the wild. Trained Pokemon always held back a little of their power to keep their attacks from being lethal or permanently injuring to the opponent, but in the wild, there were no such restrictions. In the wild, the fighting was real, and the attacks were often deadly to those on their receiving end. The flame of courage and anger ignited in her heart once more, sparked by the murder of the poor old bird who had healed her wounds and tried to protect these children. Screaming in rage, she dropped the suitcase and charged right for the Skarmory, causing a moment of fear to flash through the steel-winged vulture's eyes.

That's when one of the Murkrow slammed into her literally from nowhere with a Dark-type Faint Attack, doing extra damage due to her innate Psychic type. For a second it felt like a thousand needles were piercing her brain due to the dark energy crackling through her body as a result of the attack. Another Murkrow slammed into her, and another. Pain inflicted to her body and mind by the Dark attacks began to build up, and she collapsed to the floor as they continued hitting her with Faint Attacks even after she had blacked out until Skarmory called them off. "Enough!" he said. "She's dead, no need to keep pulverizing perfectly good meat." He licked his lips. "We can eat her…after we have a little appetizer." He looked hungrily at the terrified children. They screamed and started flying away, too blinded by fear to go in any specific direction. They were easy pickings for the vile birds.

They had been wrong about Latias, though. She was still alive, albeit injured. Several minutes after she had been knocked out, she groaned and struggled to open her eyes. They shot open fully when she got a glimpse of the horrors strewn about her.

There was blood everywhere. The dismembered bodies of young insect and bird Pokemon scattered the floor, dripping vital fluids. The head of the Delibird that had given her the explosive Present lay near her, eyes staring wordlessly at the ceiling, his mouth open in a silent scream. All the eggs on the racks had been shattered, and some of the evil birds were eating the yolks or unformed fetuses within. The majority of the avians were in the middle of the room, cackling as they shoved the few children still alive towards Skarmory, whose shining metal wings were now covered in blood. The baby Pokemon cried and pleaded, begging the wicked vulture to let them go. Skarmory pretended to think it over for a second…then lifted his wing, glowing white, and severed their heads with a single chop. The fiends laughed.

The fire in Latias' heart burned brighter than ever before, fueled by the sight of these atrocities. Not even Team Rocket had been this cruel, to kill defenseless children whose only crime had been to be a little annoying. The birds didn't even look like they were going to eat most of the corpses, they were doing this for fun! Something inside of her snapped in outrage and the sweet, playful Latias was replaced by a remorseless fighter. She knew that something as evil as these birds had to be abolished. And the flame in her heart told her she was going to do the job.

She floated off the ground, her body automatically using Recover to heal itself. One of the Spearow noticed and jabbed Skarmory with its wing. "Boss, look!"

"Hmm?" The Skarmory turned around and saw Latias. His eyes bulged in surprise. "She's still alive?!" He turned his head to address the Murkrow. "Kill-" Latias suddenly shot forward so fast none of the birds could see her, slamming into the Steel-type's chest. The metal bird flew across the room and smashed into the wall, cracking it and denting his armor.

The other birds stared at their fallen leader in disbelief, then looked at Latias, who suddenly seemed like a whole new Pokemon. Every muscle in her body was tensed for battle, and the cold look in her yellow eyes showed she would not give them any mercy. The air was thick with tension as the birds wondered which of them would make the first move. Then, one of the Pidgeotto, unnerved by the intensity in Latias' eyes, shifted back a little. "No," she said. "There is no escape." In the back of her mind, a mysterious force roared, like a dragon disturbed from a long slumber which strengthened her resolve. A great power awakened inside Latias, welling up from deep within her very soul. Her eyes narrowed. "No escape," She repeated. She shot forward, her wings glowing in preparation for a Steel Wing attack. She ripped through the Pidgeotto and everyone in her path with enough force to reduce them to a spray of blood staining her snowy white skin.

The other birds were snapped out of their tension-induced paralysis by this act and quickly charged forward to take out this Pokemon that dared to fight them. She turned around, eyes glowing, and sent out a ring of psychic energy, recognizable as a Psywave attack. The wave rippled through the air, ripping the Spearow and Pidgeotto to bloody pieces but passing the Murkrow harmlessly. The Dark-types quickly spat Shadow Balls at Latias, but she cupped her hands together, concentrating on the space between them. The air dampened and condensed into a cloudy sphere in her claws, roiling with volatile psychic energies. She tossed the Mist Ball at the oncoming Shadow Balls. The balls exploded, filling the chamber with light and blinding the Murkrow. They squawked and covered their eyes, so they didn't see Latias slice through them with her Steel Wing until it was too late and they were bisected and lying on the floor.

The Skarmory stirred from the place where he had hit the wall. Latias immediately flew over to him, grabbed him by the neck, and slammed him into the wall repeatedly until his armor cracked and started leaking blood. He gasped and sputtered as she constricted his throat. "Why?" she asked.

"F-Fearow told us to," he gasped out. "He wanted us to wipe out any future enemies and to demoralize Pidgeot's forces in the unlikely event they won the battle outside."

Latias pulled the Skarmory close to her, so that their noses were touching. The metal bird looked into her cold yellow eyes with unconcealed terror. "You failed." She opened her mouth and released the white flame of a Dragonbreath attack. Skarmory screamed as the fire burned him, roasting him with the heat of a thousand angry dragons. His metallic form started to soften and melt, dripping liquid steel to the floor. Latias shut off her flame after half a minute and dropped Skarmory to the ground. He splattered on impact, the metal that made him up coming apart and oozing across the floor. "You made the worst enemy you could possibly imagine." Her body glowing with power, she grabbed the suitcase she had discarded and flew out through the hole the birds had made, intending to avenge the fallen by killing every last one of the filthy invaders.

…

The fight seemed to have no end. All across the skies, members of both armies were dropping like flies, littering the forest below with innumerable corpses.

Pidgeot and Fearow didn't seem like they would ever overcome each other either. They were like poetry in motion, striking at each other again and again, each time missing due to the other's great agility and only landing a glancing blow. A peck to the feathered crest, a Wing Attack to the tail, none of their hits did any lasting damage. Both combatants were tiring, and each of them knew it. Pidgeot knew she had to end this battle quickly before too many of her friends died. As she dodged a thrusting Drill Peck attack, she flew up higher into the air as Fearow wheeled about for another strike, gathering all the energy she had left. The air around her ignited, causing her body to seem to be covered in flames as she prepared to use a Sky Attack, one of the most powerful of all Flying-type techniques. To her surprise, Fearow was flying straight towards her, not seeming to mind the giant flaming bird beginning to manifest around Pidgeot.

Fearow laughed. "If you had tried that attack on me yesterday, I would have started flying for my life. But when you saved that girl earlier, I devoured one of my minion's innards in rage, and I finally got the power that I've been desiring for years…the power to use one of the strongest attacks in all the Pokemon world!"

Pidgeot's eyes widened. No, he couldn't possibly be telling the truth, it had to be a bluff! But if it wasn't…She tried to charge up her Sky Attack faster, but the fight beforehand had tired her and so the charge-up process was going slower than usual. She realized to her horror that this had to have been Fearow's plan all along. "You're lying!" she cried desperately, but in her heart, she knew him to be telling the truth.

"Haha, if only! Witness the mightiest technique of them all…the power of HYPER BEAM!" Fearow opened his mouth and started collecting ambient energy into a golden ball of light.

Even though Pidgeot knew the Sky Attack was not finished, she knew she was out of time. She launched the incomplete firebird at Fearow, hoping it would knock him out of his beam power-up. Unfortunately, the attack never connected. Fearow fired the Hyper Beam, sending out a golden laser which burst apart the fire bird and drove right into Pidgeot, ripping a hole through her stomach as it passed through her. Pidgeot's eyes bulged in shock and disbelief. Blood dripping from her beak, she plummeted from the sky, shedding bloody feathers as she fell.

Latias had emerged from the canopy just in time to see Fearow fire his Hyper Beam at Pidgeot. She gasped, the fighter persona she had been wearing cast aside, and she flew towards the falling eagle, trying to catch her before she hit the ground. Moving at unimaginable speeds, she got under Pidgeot and caught her with strength that she hadn't been aware she had, stopping her before she could hit the ground. "Pidgeot!" she cried. "Pidgeot, wake up!" The eagle could not. She was dead. "Pidgeot…" She hugged the great eagle to her chest, not noticing the blood pouring out on her as she sobbed into the bird's chest.

She became aware of a cackling and looked up, tears still dripping from her eyes, and saw Fearow flying in circles over her, proclaiming his victory to all. "I win! I WIN! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Latias' claws dug into Pidgeot's side and the handle of the suitcase, drawing blood in anger. The fire within her began to grow out of control, turning into a massive wildfire inferno. The power building inside of her was so great, it hurt. It needed a release. She intended to give it one. She closed her eyes as her body started to glow a luminescent pearly white, catching the eye of Fearow and the other combatants. "Wh-what's going on?!" asked a Skarmory, looking worried.

"I don't know…but I think we'd better get out of here!" said a rogue Pidgey, turning to fly away. Several others took his cue.

They never got the chance. Latias' eyes flew open, illuminated by the power within. "PIDGEOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!" she screamed. Her body gave off an incredible flash of light as a huge sphere of energy formed around her, expanding into a wall of invisible force, the awesome Psychic attack. Fearow was right over Latias when she released her Psychic attack, vaporizing him instantly. The pure energy released in the blast spread outward, annihilating every Pokemon in its path, be they good or evil. The forest below was buffeted, driving trees into the ground or bending them at unreal angles from the force of the attack. When the Psychic attack finally dissipated, there were a whole lot of dead birds and broken trees, their molecules dancing through the air.

The Murkrow remained unharmed, however. "Ha! We're Dark types! You can't hurt us with that psychic shi-at, bitch!" Latias responded by exhaling a ridiculously large blast of white fire, coalescing into a gargantuan white dragon of flame that loomed over the crows. It roared, causing many of the Murkrow to die of heart attacks or defecate themselves just before it consumed them, creating a huge explosion that lit up the night like an early sunrise. When it was finally over, there was a tremendous chunk blasted out of the forest, including Wing Fortress. The unique community where truly wild bird and bug Pokemon lived in peace was no more.

Latias lowered to the ground, her glow fading as her power vanished. Her strength withering away, she moaned and dropped Pidgeot, barely managing to keep herself hovering off the ground. She blinked and looked at all the devastation around her. "…Did I do this?" she whispered. She looked back at the corpse of Pidgeot and saw that it was the only body left. All the others had been vaporized in the explosion. Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she mourned the death of another good friend. "I'm a monster," she whispered. "I killed all those Pokemon without a second thought. Some of them were innocent. Now they're all gone." She clenched her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears. "Everyone I get close to dies or gets hurt or endangered in some fashion. Latios, Bianca, Lorenzo, all of Alto Mare, Mrs. Ketchum, everyone back at Professor Oak's lab, all the Pokemon here…Pidgeot…" She shook from repressed sobs. "Everywhere I go, disaster follows. Maybe it would be better if I disappeared so that no one would ever be hurt by me again." Trailing tears, she flew into the remaining woods of Route 1, intending to vanish forever.

…

"What power," Shedinja whispered from over the devastation. "What incredible power. I can see why my lord wishes her as his wife." For a fleeting second he wondered if he could somehow harness that power for himself.

"Sir?" asked one of the Gengar under his command. "Shouldn't we go after her?"

Shedinja shook his head. "No need. That exertion will have tired her out. Soon enough she will collapse and be able to run no more. That is when we shall strike and claim her for our master."

…

True to the ghost bug's words, Latias could barely get half a mile away from the site of her mass genocide before she collapsed from exhaustion at the base of a tree, unable to fly any further. The suitcase full of Prison Balls, which she had been holding without noticing all this time, fell from her hands and clattered on the ground. She threw up the little she had eaten that day, unable to keep it in anymore, and gave several dry heaves afterwards before finally falling on her stomach and bursting into tears, sobbing her eyes out at what her life had become. She was an orphan, lost and alone in the world. She was hunted by the minions of a mysterious evil that refused to let her be. She was harboring a strange and terrible power inside of her, one capable of mass destruction if it ever got out of control. Bad things happened to the people around her wherever she went in the world. Not to mention most of the people she loved were dead and she had just killed hundreds of Pokemon and destroyed a large portion of the forest in a fit of anger. At the moment, it seemed like her life was hell. She couldn't see any way that things could possibly get any worse.

Abruptly, she heard a twig snap. She stiffened, fearing a threat. With a few last tears tumbling down her cheeks, she mustered enough strength to look up and see what was approaching.

Just a few feet away was a human. It was holding a miniaturized Pokeball of some sort in its hands.

Latias' heart skipped a beat. In her weakened condition, there was no way she could escape from that ball if it hit her. She lunged for the suitcase and tried to fly away, but the action drained her of the last of her energy and she crashed back to the ground a few feet away. She struggled to get up, but she had nothing left. She couldn't move.

She heard the telltale whistle as the human enlarged its Pokeball, preparing for a capture. "Master Ball, go!"

The ball made a whooshing noise as it spun through the air and struck Latias on her left wing. It opened up, and everything went dark.

The last thing Latias could think of before she was sucked into the ball was that she had been wrong.

Life could always get worse.

…

Man, I'm mean to Latias, aren't I? Don't worry, things will look up for the little dragon eventually! Tune in next time, when she meets a new friend and learns just what kind of trainer she's been captured by.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.